Sunday, April 22, 2018

TIMES OF INDIA: Iskcon Bangalore president Madhu Pandit Dasa, on Saturday, said after the success of Akshay Patra Foundation, Iskcon will soon venture into the education sector by providing free education to at least 25,000 underprivileged children on one single campus.Madhu Pandit Dasa, also the chairman of Akshaya Patra Foundation, said 32 kitchens are being built across the country under Akshaya Patra programme. “We are already running 36 kitchens,” he said.He was awarded Padma Shri for his mid-day meal service at schools rendered under Akshaya Patra initiative. He said the foundation aims to feed five million children by 2020.Madhu Pandit Dasa is the brainchild behind Telangana’s first golden temple dedicated to Swayambhu Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. The temple is located on road no. 12, Banjara Hills. When asked about the gold plating, he said it was done to attract people of all classes. “We have to make it glittery. If I sit under a tree, no one will come to me,” he said.The IIT graduate was attracted towards the spiritual path after reading books of Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of Iskcon, during his college days. Akshaya Patra Foundation is based on spiritual leader Swami Prabhupada’s principle of no child going hungry. It has taken upon itself the responsibility of providing food to children in schools across different regions of the country.